Kris Sivaguru

Kris Sivaguru's story is the kind of journey Ignite A Life was created to celebrate. He came to Canada from Sri Lanka in the 1990s as a mechanical engineering student. Like many newcomers, he started over, working in restaurants and factories in Montreal. After moving to Toronto in 1994, he cleaned buildings at night while studying Computer Aided Design and Manufacturing at Centennial College.

His work ethic got noticed. A customer who saw how hard he worked asked him to clean their own facility, and that one opportunity became the start of Shinol. From that beginning, Kris built Shinol Inc., a 100% Canadian-owned facility services company in Scarborough that has served Ontario for more than 25 years. Shinol grew into three lines of business: Shinol Cleaning for commercial, industrial and institutional cleaning; Shinol Maintenance and General Contracting; and Shinol Workforce, which started because clients kept asking for staffing help.

Shinol is trusted by demanding clients, including large electronics manufacturing facilities in the GTA and Class 1000 clean rooms. It maintains millions of square feet every day and works to 5S/Kaizen, GMP and Six Sigma standards. Along the way, Kris has created jobs for more than 200 workers across the Greater Toronto Area, many of them people building new lives just as he once did.

Kris credits his long-serving management team and his family for his success. The Canadian Tamils' Chamber of Commerce recognized him with its Best Entrepreneur Award, and he remains an active corporate member of the Chamber.

From night-shift cleaner to the founder of a multi-division company, Kris Sivaguru shows the resilience, leadership and opportunity-creation this award honours. It is our privilege to nominate him.

From a newcomer working night shifts as a cleaner to the founder and CEO of Shinol Inc., Kris Sivaguru has spent more than 25 years building a Scarborough-based facility services company that has employed over 200 GTA workers. Recognized with the Canadian Tamils' Chamber of Commerce Best Entrepreneur Award, he is a true example of resilience, leadership and creating opportunity for others.

He served on the Canadian Tamils' Chamber of Commerce Advisory Panel for 2024–25, which he posted about on LinkedIn in January 2025.

Shinol Inc. Group of Companies is listed as a community sponsor of the Canadian Tamil Congress, so "Group of Companies" is a name they do use.

He's listed as a founder of the Tamil Canadian Cricket Association, a GTA cricket group incorporated in 2022, and is one of its 7 directors.

He's on the donor list for the G. U. Pope Monument project in Canada.